City of Basketball Love

Andrew Robinson (@ADRobinson3)
––

WARMINSTER >> Friday night quickly became one that Kyiien Strong won’t forget for a long time.

From the moment the sophomore was summoned off Archbishop Wood’s bench in the first quarter of Friday’s clash of titans in the Philadelphia Catholic League to the final buzzer, he just kept making things happen. It’s been a recurring theme for the Vikings this season, most notably in league play, where a different guy has a breakthrough game to spur Wood on.

Strong gave Wood the lift it needed as the Vikings outlasted Bonner-Prendergast 78-73 in a high-tempo and high-level game.

“I felt good tonight, I was locked in, I knew there were a lot of small guards out there - people like me - so I knew this was my game,” Strong said. “I just wanted to go downhill, make open shots and play defense.”

Strong got a quick call to check into the game, along with Malakhi Warren, from Vikings coach John Mosco after the Friars had come out blisteringly hot from the perimeter. Although the 6-foot guard is known for his defense, he can also score the ball but hasn’t really been able to find his groove much on that end in PCL play.

Friday, Strong nailed his first shot - a three-pointer off a dish from Warren - and kept coming back for more as Mosco gave him a significant run in a game that seemed perfectly suited to his strengths against a quick and aggressive Friars team. Strong finished with 14 points, including a fallaway baseline jumper to beat the third quarter buzzer and a pretty gutsy three off a hit-ahead pass from Caleb Lundy in the fourth quarter to help bring home another huge win in what’s been a special PCL campaign for Wood so far.

“You’re in the moment, you got the whole school here, it’s a big shot and you know if you’re shooting a shot like that, it’s sealing the game,” Strong said. “It definitely feels good.”

Lundy, who authored an outstanding game himself with 23 points that included a one-handed jam plus an and-one drive in the fourth quarter, has also taken it upon himself to be Strong’s walking support system. They may scrap and argue at practice but they’re about as close as brothers and Lundy has kept a steady supply of texts and messages to his teammate that his time was coming.

The Vikings have seen it all season with different players stepping up in different games and Strong’s time did in fact arrive right on schedule.

“Man, me and Ky, he’s had a rough season so far but we’re always on the phone, we’re always talking and I told him, ‘this game is your game, bro,’” Lundy said. “It was time to attack and he attacked. He hit some threes, he just played his game. Ky has always been a great scorer and today, he showed it.”

Wood needed everything Strong provided on Friday as Bonner-Prendie looked every bit of a PCL contender in its own right. The Friars, who came into the night tied with Roman Catholic for second in the league, followed the lead of Korey Francis and Kam Jackson with an effort that still had the Vikings scrambling to finish the game into the final 15 seconds.

Francis was a force, the junior guard facilitating the hot start shooting with his passing then going into attack mode to rack up 31 points that included a 13-of-19 effort at the foul line. Jackson was also excellent, the jet-quick guard slicing his way to 24 points as the Friars’ efforts to go to the rim helped foul out Wood’s rim-protecting Jadyn Jenkins with 4:31 left in regulation.

“It’s tough, right, every team is super-competitive in this league and it really does come down to the one or two possessions, a couple plays, foul shots, those 50/50 plays,” Friars coach Billy Cassidy said. “We’ve got to do a better job of winning those throughout the game for all four quarters and that will give us a better chance of winning these kinds of games.”

Strong showed flashes this summer, whether it was playing with Team Final or with Wood in the Mayfair league, so it’s not a surprise to anyone in the program that he was ready for a bigger role. The Vikings have a strong roster and coming off the bench may not always equate to a lot of playing time, so Strong has embraced just staying ready.

“The first thing is playing defense,” Strong said. “It always starts with playing hard and defense, that’s what’s going to get me on the court first then it’s hitting open shots. Once I started hitting open shots, that’s when everything started to open up.”

After his three in the first quarter allowed Wood to close the period on a roll, Strong added a second basket off another feed from Warren in the second quarter. The sophomore would come on like his last name says in a physical and foul-filled third quarter, getting to the line and knocking down two free throws after Francis had put Bonner-Prendie ahead 45-43 then putting Wood on top with a take to the rim on the very next possession.

The Vikings would not trail the rest of the game, thanks in part to how Strong closed the quarter. With just 5.3 on the clock after Francis put away two more at the line to cut the lead to 49-48, Strong advanced the ball up the floor, drove into the lane, went to back in but quickly reversed course and knocked down the step-back fadeaway as time expired to light up Wood’s packed student section.

“It’s a lot, it feels real good, I’ll say that,” Strong said. “To hit a shot and have the whole school behind you, it feels real good.”

Often, a close game in a premier league matchup can come down to something or someone unexpected rising to the moment. Strong was that difference maker on Friday and earned a tip of the cap for his efforts.

“Kyiien Strong, he played unbelievable,” Cassidy said. “He made a lot of really big plays for them and credit to him, he stepped up in a big time game and in big time moments.”

Wood came into Friday off a sluggish win against Devon Prep earlier in the week, which Lundy put on himself for what he called “a little bit lackadaisical” effort early in that contest. The junior guard had a solid first half, playing a secondary role as senior Brady MacAdams led the way with 14 of his 18 points before the break, then Lundy took charge with 15 second half points.

After Brian Donahue’s and-one gave Wood a 55-49 lead, Lundy came up with the next four points on his driving dunk then going coast-to-coast off a rebound before Jenkins hammered in a putback dunk to cap the 9-0 run.

“Every single game, it’s somebody else’s night,” Lundy said. “Malakhi had his night against Devon Prep, he just had his night, Brian had his night at Judge, Brady just had his night against Roman, I had my night at Ryan. Everybody on this team has had their night where they’ve gone off and that’s what makes us such a great team, we have guys who can take over the game in every aspect.”

With 3:47 left, Lundy zipped a long pass up the floor to Strong in the opposite corner. The sophomore didn’t think twice, putting up the shot and sinking a three that 

Strong and the rest of the Vikings are aiming for a few more memorable nights this season – which they hope includes a couple trips to Penn’s campus – but for now, Strong has at least one night he can put at the top of his most memorable experiences playing basketball.

“It might be the coolest, to be honest,” Strong said.

~~~

By Quarter
AW: 14  |  18  |  19  |  27  ||  78
BP:  16  |  15  |  17  |  25  ||  73

Scoring
AW: Caleb Lundy 23, Brady MacAdams 18, Kyiien Strong 14, Dylan Powell 5, Malakhi Warren 5, Brian Donahue 3

BP: Korey Francis 31, Kam Jackson 24, Dashawn Holden 7, Tariq Warner 5, Aydin Scott 4, Jakeem Carroll 2